The system was deeply moved.
“Host, host, you’re really too good to me—boohoo. From now on I’ll never let you down again. I’ll definitely be your baby system!”

Lin Mo tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“So, how many times have you tried to scam me before?”

The system replied meekly,
“No, no, Host, you’re far too clever—every time I tried, I failed!”

“Fine, I’ll trust you this once.”

With the system’s explanation, Lin Mo felt that everything finally made sense.
That Gu Qingxue possessing such an ability—she definitely couldn’t be Jiang Yanran’s senior sister.

Based on his deductions, judging from how Gu Qingxue was caring for Jiang Yanran so attentively, either she had sent an external incarnation to come and annul the engagement, or she had personally entered her private domain.
If his guess was correct, Gu Qingxue should be Jiang Yanran’s master—the Palace Lord of Hanbing Palace.

Thinking that, Lin Mo felt a bit dazed.
If everything was truly as he suspected, then Gu Qingxue was indeed in an awkward position.
Frankly, the fact that she hadn’t chopped him apart back then was already quite merciful.

When the pastries were ready, Lin Mo brought them back to the sitting room.
Gu Qingxue seemed lost in thought, her spirit wandering.
The sweet aroma of the pastries immediately caught her attention.

“Want some?” Lin Mo smiled and offered her the pastries he’d made.

Gu Qingxue breathed in their fragrance, swallowing unconsciously. She had just opened her mouth to speak when Lin Mo had already pressed a piece into it.

The tarts and other pastries he made were not only delicious thanks to his exceptional skill, but also used eggs from high-grade spirit beasts—something that could even aid cultivation.

The sweet, mellow flavor exploded across her tongue, and light gradually returned to Gu Qingxue’s eyes.
She couldn’t help but gaze at the man before her. It had to be said—his cooking truly was one of a kind in all the heavens.

“Mo’er, what did you make?” Gu Ningxin asked curiously as she leaned closer.

Gu Ningxin stared at the yellow thing Lin Mo was holding in his hand — it was an egg tart.

She blurted out in surprise, “This is an egg tart?”

Unbelievable. How could her Mo’er make something like an egg tart?

Now it was Lin Mo’s turn to be stunned. He looked at his mother with a face full of surprise.
“Mother, what did you just say?”

Gu Ningxin hurriedly corrected herself.
“I mean — is this made from egg?”

Lin Mo thought he must have misheard and nodded with a smile.
“Mother, you’re really something — it does indeed contain egg.”

“All right, you two talk first. I have other things to attend to.”

Gu Ningxin hid the shock in her heart and quickly excused herself, conveniently leaving Lin Mo and Gu Qingxue alone.

Once she was gone, the atmosphere in the room grew subtle and awkward.
Gu Qingxue didn’t know what to say and could only eat the pastries quietly.
Lin Mo, meanwhile, was still distracted, wondering if his mother had really said egg tart.

When the plate was finally empty, Gu Qingxue spoke softly,
“That… person, Lin Mo—”

“Hm?” Lin Mo came back to himself and looked at her. He reached out his hand and slowly moved it toward Gu Qingxue’s face.

Gu Qingxue, seeing this, assumed Lin Mo was about to pinch her cheeks like he used to.
Her heart began to race, and her little face turned bright red.
She knew she should refuse, but her body felt as if frozen, unable to move.

“You’re practically grown — why do you still pout your lips when you eat?” Lin Mo said with a teasing smile as he gently wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

“What’s this? Your face is still that red?” Lin Mo teased.

Gu Qingxue quickly covered her cheeks.
“It’s nothing,” she stammered.

“By the way,” Lin Mo said, smiling playfully, “I heard you came back that day?”

His tone carried a faint trace of warmth and mischief.

“Are you trying to kill me, or… trying to save me?”

Gu Qingxue was caught off guard by the question.

She really had been influenced by her external incarnation — she’d intended to go back and save Lin Mo, but she returned a little too late.
Thinking of that, a faint guilt stirred in her heart.

If she had rescued Lin Mo back then, she could have cleanly settled that karmic debt, and seeing him now wouldn’t feel so awkward.
She wanted to help him this time too, but she never got the chance — Lin Mo simply didn’t need her assistance. He’d already handled everything on his own.

“I didn’t do any of that,” she said softly. “I only went back to save Yanyan.”

Lin Mo glanced at Gu Qingxue.
She turned her head away with a proud little huff — that mix of shyness and stubbornness was rather cute.

---

“Why didn’t Yanyan come with you?”

Gu Qingxue replied, “That day, after you were gravely injured and transported away, Yanyan cried for a long time.
Later she blamed herself for being too weak to protect you properly, so she chose to go train among the Yao clan.”

Hearing that, Lin Mo felt a small warmth in his chest.
That night, Yanyan had indeed been devastated — a little gluttonous and noisy by nature, but deep down she was loyal and true-hearted.

At that critical moment she’d stood up for him, even bearing part of the damage from the Qingling Sect’s guardian formation.
And now she’d gone to the Yao clan for his sake.

It seemed he’d have to find some time to visit the Yao clan and see how Yanyan was faring lately.

---

“Then your visit to the Lin family today,” Lin Mo asked with a faint smile, “surely it’s not for that girl Qu Ruyan, is it?”

Gu Qingxue froze again. After a long moment she finally said,
“Your Lin family people are all quite good. I only wanted to see how your household was being wronged by petty schemers, that’s all.”

Lin Mo pressed on, “So, Gu Qingxue, you’ve been keeping an eye on the Lin family all this time?”

Gu Qingxue couldn’t hold it in any longer; her cheeks flushed as she snapped,
“Lin Mo, you really are infuriating!”

In the next instant, she turned into a streak of light and flew toward the Lin residence.

Watching her fading silhouette, Lin Mo’s lips curved faintly.

It seemed that the personality from before her amnesia was still hiding deep inside.
Perhaps that cold exterior was only a mask.

As for his relationship with Gu Qingxue, Lin Mo wasn’t in any hurry.
There was no need to force closeness — some things would come naturally in time.

Lin Mo knew very well that what Gu Qingxue needed most right now was time—time to let her feelings settle.
If he pushed too hard, it would only place unnecessary pressure on her.
After all, her relationship with Jiang Yanran still stood between them.

That was the real problem between him and Gu Qingxue.

For the time being, Lin Mo planned to stay with the Lin family and lift its overall strength.
Truth be told, placed within the Upper Realm, the current Lin clan was still a small family—a single cultivator at the Divine Transformation stage could wipe it out completely.

Fortunately, Lin Mo was no longer the same as before.
In the Demon Realm he had slain several thousand demonic cultivators, collecting not only vast amounts of regret points but also an impressive haul of storage rings.
Most of those who died beneath his sword had been at the Nascent Soul level.

Taken together, the resources he’d gathered were enough to form a small mountain.
And with his system-enhanced eighth-level alchemy proficiency, refining grade-eight, first-class pills was practically effortless for him; his pill-making success rate was remarkably high.
With that alone, he could raise the Lin family’s strength by several tiers without difficulty.

---

Meanwhile, in the Upper Realm’s Lin family, Lin Hao personally went to report everything that had happened regarding Lin Mo in the Middle Realm.
Inside the great hall, he relayed every detail to the current family head and the assembled elders.

The man seated in the chief position abruptly stood up in shock.
“So you’re saying this Lin Mo still possesses the strength of the Divine Transformation realm?”

Lin Hao nodded. “Absolutely true. Though I only exchanged a few blows with him, the aura he revealed was unmistakably that of Divine Transformation.”

The man on the main seat asked again, “How old is he?”

Lin Hao thought for a moment. “He should be around thirty…”

Even as he said it, disbelief colored his own face.
A thirty-year-old Divine Transformation cultivator—even in the ancient age when spiritual energy was overflowing—would have been a shocking prodigy.

The elders exchanged stunned looks.

One ventured, “Family Head, could it be that Lin Mo was carrying a high-grade magical artifact that distorted Lin Hao’s judgment?”

Lin Hao hesitated, then admitted, “It’s not impossible. After all, we only traded a few moves. There could indeed have been some high-quality artifact that misled me.”

The family head said, “Since we’re not certain, bring this Lin Mo back to the clan. Arrange proper quarters for him and let everyone see for themselves—better that than any misunderstanding.”

“Perfect timing,” another elder added.
“In a few days we’ll be holding the Clan Grand Competition. It’ll be the right opportunity to invite the collateral branches back to compete.”

“They’ve all been wanting to return to the main house anyway. Let them prove themselves with strength—after all, the Lin family has always needed elites, not riffraff.”

“A few hundred years have passed; who knows, perhaps among those branch lines there are still some with real talent and power worth acknowledging.”